Life Without Plastic Blog

Featuring Sophie - The Creator of our Organic Cotton Dolls and Animals

My friend Sophie is convinced that the dolls she creates become alive after she gives them a hug. We had lunch the other day and she showed me her newest creation "Lapidou" which is a word created from merging the French words "Lapin" (rabbit) and "Doux" (soft). It is a very cute rabbit with long legs and arms designed to be cuddled and love bitten by small children. It is made by hand with organic cotton and stuffed with natural wool. She said to me, "Try hugging it and you will see it will smile even more. It is true.  Check it out!" So I did. Just seeing the face of Sophie with her smile of hope was priceless. I may have seen the doll smile a bit more... I think I did. I ordered many of these lapidoux hoping some children would be happy to hug them this holiday season. They are now in stock! Check here.

A little bit more about Sophie

She is a beautiful artisan mother of two young children. She makes her dolls with a little bit of help from a local seamstress and a workshop of handicapped workers. She is a total believer in the importance of giving back to her community. She gives a hug to each and everyone of her finished dolls or animals. Because she knows that so many toys sold in mainstream toy stores are bathed in flame retardant chemicals, toxic dyes and paints, she wants to offer healthy alternatives to children.

We also carry the babyluga (a baby beluga whale), and the elf dolls (vanilla and chocolate) from Sophie. All made with organic cotton and stuffed with natural wool.

Chantal Plamondon, Co-Owner
LifeWithoutPlastic.com

Stainless Steel in Toaster Oven Prevents Aluminum Garnish on Burrito

Yesterday, I was looking for something to eat and found in our freezer a frozen Amy's Burrito (unfortunately wrapped in plastic). I checked the instructions: either re-heat in a microwave or wrap in aluminum foil and re-heat in oven. 

Heating it up in a microwave oven was not an option. We haven't had a microwave oven for more than 10 years.  Ever since my mother passed away of stomach cancer in 1992, I always wondered if the old microwave oven we used to have in the middle of our kitchen caused her cancer. I am convinced it was "leaking" radiation. It was one of the first models available on the market in the '70s. I have also always wondered how the radiation affects the composition of the food, let alone of the container used to heat it up.

Heating it up in aluminum can be perilous. In contact with acidic food, aluminum tends to "melt" or disintegrate which is why you often see little holes on the aluminum foil covering a lasagna. Scary! So this was not an option either.

What I ended up doing was heating up my burrito inside our oval stainless steel sandwich box. It worked
beautifully. Not only was the burrito nicely moist when it was ready, but I only needed to leave it in the toaster oven for 25 minutes instead of 35 minutes which saved a lot of energy. The heat transferred to the container and back to the burrito which is why less time was needed.

I have noticed that the fear of plastic seems to go hand in hand with the fear of microwaves, which is why stainless steel food containers are such a great alternatives. They can be used in toaster ovens while plastic cannot.

I really enjoyed my burrito... it tasted really good and was cooked to perfection!

Chantal Plamondon, Co-Owner
LifeWithoutPlastic.com